McLeod Leaps Olympic Standard Friday At SEC Indoor Championships

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Tennessee junior Carey McLeod surpassed the 2020 Olympic qualifying standard in the men's long jump, leaping a personal-best of 8.25 meters (27-0.75) Friday at the SEC Indoor Championships inside the Randal Tyson Track Center. The Kingston, Jamaica, native won a silver medal in the event and currently stands as the No. 3 performer in the world for the 2020-21 indoor campaign.

McLeod recorded the extraordinary leap on his sixth and final attempt, becoming the first athlete in Tennessee history to jump more than 27 feet. The performance moved him up five spots to No. 13 on the all-time collegiate indoor list.

The Vol jumpers now have two athletes on the current roster that have met Olympic qualifying standards ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Games this summer. Senior high jumper Darryl Sullivan cleared an SEC indoor record of 2.33 meters (7-7.75) during the 2019-20 indoor season.

The Big Orange combined for three scoring performances and 13 personal-best marks on Friday at the SEC Indoor Championships. Additionally, three athletes in running events advanced to Saturday's final rounds. Read below for more highlights from day two of the conference meet.

SYD SCORES FOUR: In the women's 5,000-meter run, Lady Vol junior Sydney Seymour put up a career-best clocking of 16:18.46 for fifth place overall. Her time was a PR by more than 21 seconds and moved her into the program's all-time top 10, now ranking as the No. 6 performer in Tennessee history indoors.

Earning four points on Friday, Seymour is the first Lady Vol to score in the SEC indoor 5K since All-American Chelsea Blaase won the event in 2016 with a time of 16:22.32.

KING KARL SCORES AGAIN: Tennessee junior Karl Thiessen added two points for the Vols in the men's 5,000-meter run, clocking in at a personal-best 14:13.83 for seventh place at the meet. The Abingdon, Virginia, native has now scored in the event at back-to-back SEC Indoor Championships, also placing seventh overall last season.

JOELLA ADVANCES: Antiguan international Joella Lloyd, who entered the meet as the top seed in the women's 60-meter dash, secured an automatic bid to the SEC final by winning her preliminary heat in 7.23 seconds. The redshirt sophomore will run her first conference final Saturday at approximately 6:13 p.m. CT.

Lloyd nearly qualified in the 200-meter as well, posting a personal-best mark of 23.39 that was ninth-fastest in prelims and one spot from advancing to Saturday's final.

MID-DISTANCE FINALISTS: The Vols had a pair of middle-distance runners advance past preliminary rounds in the mile and 800-meter run. Redshirt junior Conner Hawkins turned in a time of 4:08.03 in the mile for the 9th qualifying spot, while sophomore Alex Kay won his 800-meter heat with a time of 1:50.33 to automatically advance to Saturday's final.

Hawkins will run his first career SEC mile final at 3 p.m. ET, while Kay will compete in the 800-meter final for the second-straight season at approximately 3:37.

PR TRACKER: Tennessee athletes combined for 13 indoor personal records on Friday at the SEC Indoor Championships.

Kameron Helmlinger - Men's 800m - 1:51.26
Peyton Davis - Men's 1,000m - 2:41.48
Karl Thiessen - Men's 5,000m - 14:13.83
Georde Goodwyn - Men's 5,000m - 14:53.48
Carey McLeod - Men's Long Jump - 8.25m (27-0.75)
Anthony Riley - Men's Long Jump - 7.61m (24-11.75)
Ethan Robinson - Men's Heptathlon - 5,074 points
Joella Lloyd - Women's 200m - 23.39
Allison Rand - Women's 800m - 2:12.67
Emma Dilullo - Women's 800m - 2:12.77
Sydney Seymour - Women's 5,000m - 16:18.46
Olivia Janke - Women's 5,000m - 16:53.67
Abigail Smith - Women's 5,000m - 18:01.49

UP NEXT: The SEC Indoor Championships will wrap up Saturday in Fayetteville. The men's session begins at 12:30 p.m. CT with the shot put and concludes with the 4x400-meter relay at 3:20. Women's competition begins at 4:30 Saturday afternoon with the shot put and ends with the 4x400-meter relay at 7:20.

For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee track & field, follow @Vol_Track on Twitter and Instagram.

University of Tennessee Athletics

McLeod Leaps Olympic Standard Friday At SEC Indoor Championships

Players Mentioned

Peyton Davis

Emma Dilullo

Georde Goodwyn

Conner Hawkins

Kameron Helmlinger

Olivia Janke

Alex Kay

Joella Lloyd

Carey McLeod

Allison Rand

Anthony Riley

Ethan Robinson

Sydney Seymour

Abigail Smith

Darryl Sullivan

Karl Thiessen

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